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Famed string instruments at home with Odeion String Quartet

16 February 2023 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Anja Aucamp

Quarter of Peace_web read more — Samson Diamond, Jeanne-Louise Moolman, Prof Anmari van der Westhuizen-Joubert, and Sharon de Kock with the QoP instruments created by luthier Brian Lisus to honour SA’s Nobel peace laureates.

Hope, the viola; Freedom, the first violin; Peace, the second violin; and Reconciliation, the cello, collectively known as the Quartet of Peace (QoP), have found their home at the UFS. The Odeion String Quartet (OSQ) has been made the custodians of this world-famous quartet created by Brian Lisus. The instruments were created by Lisus in 2010 to commemorate the four Nobel peace laureates of South Africa, namely Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, and Desmond Tutu. In March 2022, Lisus presented a lecture in the Odeion Theatre to officially present these instruments to the UFS.

Many new performing opportunities

“The trustees found that justice will be done by making the Odeion String Quartet the new custodians, since they are the only quartet-in-residence at a South African university,” says Prof Anmari van der Westhuizen-Joubert, cellist and Head of the OSQ.

As the custodians of the QoP, it brought many new performing opportunities, both nationally and internationally. “It can also be used in presentations of lectures on all subjects and not only of a political nature. In this way, string quartet music reaches more people than just those who go to concert halls,” Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert says. The OSQ consists of Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert (cellist), Samson Diamond (violinist and leader of the string quartet), Sharon de Kock (violinist), and Jeanne-Louise Moolman (violinist).

Unique part of UFS identity

The uniqueness of the QoP instruments will be an important element of the OSQ, the Odeion School of Music, the Faculty of the Humanities, as well as the entire UFS community. “One of the plans is to raise money to enable students to come and study with the Odeion String Quartet members at the UFS,” Prof Van der Westhuizen-Joubert says. Another historic moment with these instruments took place in October 2022, when the instruments took centre stage at a concert hosted by Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. At this event, the QoP instruments were introduced to the public, important stakeholders, and to guests of the UFS. Other plans include trips to international festivals such as the Ojai Music Festival in the USA in 2023 and the String Quartet Biennale in Amsterdam in 2024.

*This article first appeared in the Bult Magazine.

News Archive

UFS adopts advanced institutional approach to disability, launches CUADS

2015-07-14

Lize Botha, Louzanne Coetzee and her guide-dog Oakley, and David Nkwenkwezi.

Photo: Eye Poetry Photograpy

The approach to support for students with disabilities at South African universities has remained largely one-dimensional, focusing on the support and accommodation of individual students. Implementing the Universal Access (UA) and Universal Design (UD) approach has aligned the University of the Free State (UFS) with international standards. Such an approach addresses challenges arising as a result of the interaction between functional limitations and the social, attitudinal and physical environment of students with disabilities. The Unit for Students with Disabilities (USD) has evolved into the Center for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) in support of the social model of disability.

Hetsie Veitch, Head of CUADS and her team, have dedicated the past four years to the center’s physical revamping and systematic reconstruction to be officially launched in an Open Day event on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Details of the event:
Date: Friday 24 July 2015
Time:10:00-16:00
Venue: CUADS and Sasol Library foyer
Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Exploring the dimensions of UA and UD

UA and UD facilitate holistic support for students with visual, mobility, hearing, learning, and other impairments. With the former providing a paradigm shift in disability management and support, the latter warrants the formation of a universally accessible environment.

According to Veitch, the focus moves away from the person with the disability, someone who ‘needs to be helped’, to the environment in which that person needs to function.

Since the center was founded in 2001, structural and systematic developments have occurred in order to create a welcoming and accessible learning environment that grants students opportunities to be successful in their academic endeavours.

UA endorses the UFS Mission Statement of human togetherness, advancing social justice by creating multiple opportunities for students to access the university, and promoting innovation, distinctiveness, and leadership in both academic and human pursuits.The UFS is committed to be a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive learning institution, an environment where optimal learning for a diverse student community thrives.

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